It’s new so I’m new
Hi everyone, I’ve been diagnosed with DCIS on October 3rd. Left side. By my next appointment on the 22nd I’m supposed to decide on whether to have a lumpectomy or mastectomy. And then surgery is m...
Forum Discussion
Hi @FreckledGalaxy
My dcis was found after calcifications were seen on my mammogram in November 2016. I was called back in December 2016 and diagnosed with dcis in January 2017. I was originally booked for lumpectomy in February? then an mri the day before I was meant to have the surgery showed that lumpectomy was not possible due to the size of the dcis.
They didnt do recon in our regional hospital so I had to start again at the bottom of a waiting list at a different hospital in Brisbane . I didnt have my mastectomy till halfway through March so sounds like I had the longest wait of 3 months. But the wait gave me time to fully understand as much as possible what was going on. I still felt that there were very few answers till the pathology came through after the mastectomy.
I desperately wanted immediate recon.
I found out as Vangirl said, if you want recon (not everyone does) if you are offered immediate recon but decide to wait the waiting list can be 2 years or more as you are no longer a category 1 patient once the cancer is out , so you go to the back of the queue. Immediate recon has helped me move on very quickly as I had pure DCIS which meant no radiation, chemo or other therapies so within a fairly short period I was all fixed, reconstructed and healed, ready to get on with my life.
Yes the silicone implant is covered by medicare.
I am a public patient in Qld. Double mastectomy was never offered. BRAC testing was never offered since it was "only" DCIS and no family history etc. Your circumstance may be different. I have talked on here to other ladies treated at the same hospital as me that have had totally different experiences. You can see my single side implant pictures and story in the photo stories in the choosing breast reconstruction group.
Good luck
My dcis was found after calcifications were seen on my mammogram in November 2016. I was called back in December 2016 and diagnosed with dcis in January 2017. I was originally booked for lumpectomy in February? then an mri the day before I was meant to have the surgery showed that lumpectomy was not possible due to the size of the dcis.
They didnt do recon in our regional hospital so I had to start again at the bottom of a waiting list at a different hospital in Brisbane . I didnt have my mastectomy till halfway through March so sounds like I had the longest wait of 3 months. But the wait gave me time to fully understand as much as possible what was going on. I still felt that there were very few answers till the pathology came through after the mastectomy.
I desperately wanted immediate recon.
I found out as Vangirl said, if you want recon (not everyone does) if you are offered immediate recon but decide to wait the waiting list can be 2 years or more as you are no longer a category 1 patient once the cancer is out , so you go to the back of the queue. Immediate recon has helped me move on very quickly as I had pure DCIS which meant no radiation, chemo or other therapies so within a fairly short period I was all fixed, reconstructed and healed, ready to get on with my life.
Yes the silicone implant is covered by medicare.
I am a public patient in Qld. Double mastectomy was never offered. BRAC testing was never offered since it was "only" DCIS and no family history etc. Your circumstance may be different. I have talked on here to other ladies treated at the same hospital as me that have had totally different experiences. You can see my single side implant pictures and story in the photo stories in the choosing breast reconstruction group.
Good luck